MARYLAND BRIEFING

Saturday, June 2, 2007

BALTIMORE

18 Inmates Are Injured in Fight

Eighteen inmates were injured, three seriously, during a prison yard fight yesterday at a state corrections center in Baltimore, authorities said.

The fight broke out at the Metropolitan Transition Center about 1:30 p.m., said Maj. Priscilla Doggett, a corrections spokeswoman. Prison officials said three inmates with serious injuries were taken to hospitals.

Details about the cause of the disturbance were not immediately available, but it involved several groups of inmates, some armed with homemade weapons, Doggett said. No corrections workers were injured.

The facility will remain on lockdown indefinitely, and the emergency operations command center has been activated, which is the standard procedure, she said.

-- Associated Press

HOWARD MURDER TRIAL

Escape Attempt Prompts Delay

A raucous courtroom escape attempt prompted a judge yesterday to postpone indefinitely the trial of a state inmate charged in the slaying of a corrections officer.

Howard County Circuit Court Judge Dennis M. Sweeney said he is also considering recusing himself to avoid any appeals based on his role in the scuffle, which left two prospective jurors and two sheriff's deputies slightly injured Thursday, the first day of jury selection.

Sweeney's decision to start over with a new jury pool will probably delay the trial of Brandon T. Morris, who is charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping, until at least September.

Morris, 21, of Baltimore, is accused of fatally shooting Jeffery Wroten, 44, of Martinsburg, W.Va., during his escape from custody at Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown last year.

-- Associated Press

PRince GEORGE'S crime

MS-13 Member Given 35 Years

A member of the MS-13 street gang who was convicted of federal racketeering charges was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt yesterday to 35 years in prison, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow also ordered that Edgar A. "Pony" Ayala, 29, be supervised for five years after his release.

In November, a federal jury in Greenbelt convicted Ayala, of Suitland, of charges that include conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.

-- Ruben Castaneda

2 Sentenced in Killing, Robbery

Two men who pleaded guilty to robbing and killing a State Department employee were sentenced to prison yesterday by a Prince George's County judge, State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said.

Circuit Court Judge Larnzell Martin Jr. sentenced Robert J. Knight, 25, of the District to life in prison without parole. On March 16, Knight pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the slaying Nov. 9 of John W. Rashlich, 61.

An accomplice, Jonathan Fenwick, 21, of the District, pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

-- Ruben Castaneda

Man's Body Found Near School

The body of a man who had been slain was found last night on a path near a Prince George's County school, county police said.

The body, with a wound to the upper body, was found in the 2500 block of Olson Street near the Benjamin Stoddert Middle School in the Temple Hills area, police said.

-- Clarence Williams and Martin Weil

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

200 Evacuated Because of Fire

About 200 people were evacuated from two commercial buildings in Bethesda yesterday after an underground transformer caught on fire, Montgomery County officials said.

The transformer blew up about 10 a.m. in the 4700 block of Elm Street, fire and rescue service spokesman Pete Piringer said.

No one is thought to have been injured, and investigators found no indication of foul play, Piringer said.

The buildings are at 7272 and 7316 Wisconsin Ave., just south of the Regal movie theaters.

-- Ernesto Londoño

Woman Accused of Theft Scam

A Montgomery County employee has been indicted on a felony theft charge in connection with what officials allege was a pyramid scheme, the county's inspector general said.

Delmy Y. Siguenza, who works at the Department of Public Works and Transportation, was also indicted on one count of operating a pyramid promotional scheme, a misdemeanor. Officials did not provide details about the allegation.

Siguenza denies any wrongdoing, her attorney, Rene Sandler, said. The lawyer said that the allegations do not involve Siguenza's county duties and that Siguenza remains employed.

-- Ernesto Londoño